Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Almost all the economists studying today’s high oil prices think that financial speculators are helping drive up those prices, but hard data is lacking as to whether they’re a factor, and if so, how big. Michael Greenberger said speculation is a major factor, and he knows a lot about the complex global oil market. He directed trading and markets for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1997 to 1999. That body regulates the trading of contracts for future deliveries of commodities, including crude oil. The contracts, called futures, drive oil prices. Greenberger, a law professor at the University...

In recent days I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington Project named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025. This pledge is addressed to all concerned -- to those abroad whose power flows from an accident of geology, and to you, my fellow Americans, whose strength proceeds from unity of purpose. Together, we will break the power of OPEC over the United States. And never again...

Here we are with a new week and another round of posturing, politicking, and punditry regarding the price of petroleum. As happens when folks do a lot of talking, very little is said. I hang around educated and talented people. Each individual has at least one university degree. Most read, watch, or listen to more than one news source every day. They span generations with ages ranging from the 20s to the 70s. Yet, not a single person among them knew the answers to some basic questions pertinent to the growing discourse regarding the rising price of oil. A few...

This week I want to do something a little different. Although my Winning the Future message has always been directed at all Americans, whether they consider themselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents, today I am directing my message specifically to Democrats. And my message is this:The American people have spoken. Are your leaders listening?Over 1.1 Million Americans Call on Congress to "Drill Here, Drill Now" We really had no idea, just 35 days ago when we first posted the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition here, that we would provide the spark that has ignited a fire among frustrated, struggling...

Environmentalists have contended for decades that if gasoline, heating oil and natural-gas prices rose high enough, Americans would clamor for energy alternatives. Well, each fuel sets a record almost daily, and Americans are clamoring — for more gasoline, heating oil and natural gas. A new Rasmussen poll finds two-thirds of Americans favor more offshore drilling, as opposed to just 18 percent who oppose it. Drilling is backed by 57 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of unaffiliated voters. Even liberals think environmental concerns must take a backseat to more plentiful, less expensive fossil fuels, 46 percent to 37 percent. Last...

A bill introduced in Congress this week would "compel" oil and natural gas companies to produce from federal lands they are leasing. If only it were that easy to find and produce oil. Imagine, an act of Congress that could do what geology could not. These lawmakers ask why oil and gas companies want more access to federal lands to drill if they aren't using all of the 68 million acres they already have? Anyone with even the most basic understanding of how oil and natural gas are produced – and this should include many members of Congress – knows...

----snip---- The reason oil prices are skyrocketing is not because there isn’t enough oil to satisfy demand right now but because the market expects that significantly more supply is going to be needed in the future to make up for new demand coming online from the developing world. These new oil supplies cannot be economically produced without significantly higher oil prices to make production economical and higher oil prices are also needed for consumers to cut back on their own consumption of oil. Another important factor is that the production in many oil-exporting nations has been in decline due to...

Wow! Not just a hell-freezes-over-moment. Let's call it–in honor of Chinese Olympic diving which made the NY Times today–a a triple-twisting forward three-and-a-half flying pig, pike position. An MSM reporter has condemned socialist big-government programs, adding a pitch for unrestrained free-market forces. Check the end of this item for a factoid making the moment even more remarkable. CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera made the stunning statement on Morning Joe today while reporting on a change in Chinese policy that should lower the price of crude oil world-wide. View video here.

Many in the wacko wing of the anti-war movement - which includes a few Congress critters - have claimed that the Iraq war was all about Bush’s oil buddies.Well, I’m glad to at least see that part is working out: Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power. American involvement in rebuilding Iraq’s oil inustry is good news for both countries - the U.S. companies now have a replacement for lost markets...

You must have seen or heard it. It's been repeated ad nauseum by Democrats on floors of both houses of Congress, before TV cameras and radio microphones and at recent campaign events. "We can't drill our way out of this." The donkey party's latest mantra has been hammered home by the usual suspects from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to Barack Obama. Like most Democrat talking points, it's a falsehood. Yes we CAN drill our way out of this. Just the announcement of our intention to drill in any one of the Big Three Forbidden Zones (off the Continental Shelf,...

Will $4 Gasoline Trump a 27-Year-Old Ban?SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published June 19, 2008 WASHINGTON — One was an oilman from Texas, the other a high-paid energy executive. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, for seven years George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been unable to persuade Congress and the public that domestic oil drilling is an answer to America’s energy needs. With the clock running down on his presidency, Mr. Bush made one last push Wednesday by calling on Congress to end the 27-year moratorium on most offshore drilling. With oil at more than $130 a barrel, gasoline...

Fox news alert that the House Democrats are calling to have all US refineries nationalized!!

June 18, 2008 Reid: Bush And McCain Still Don't Get It - We Cannot Drill Our Way Out Of This Energy Crisis Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s proposal to drill offshore for oil: “This week’s flip-flop on offshore oil drilling by President Bush and Senator John McCain is nothing more than a cynical campaign ploy that will do nothing to lower energy prices and represents another big giveaway to oil companies already making billions in profits. “The facts are clear: Oil companies have already had ample opportunity to increase...

OK ... so this is rambling ... but someone needs to really start calling this Obama character, and his fawning followers, out. I just love hearing The Messiah slamming McCain for "flip-flopping" on the issue of offshore drilling. I seem to remember that a few months ago Barack Obama was talking about almost doubling the capital gains tax. He wanted to take it up to 28%. Suddenly that changed. Apparently some advisors who are smarter than him had a little sit-down, and the idea went away. Flip-flopping? The people of this country, even people who call themselves liberal, want us...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Soaring gas prices at the pump means more drivers are going to have a bumpier ride no matter where they go because economic pressure is forcing states to cut back on repaving projects. Americans drove fewer vehicle miles this year than last year, which means that states have less state and federal gasoline excise tax money to pay for the soaring cost of asphalt to repave roads. Asphalt is made from a combination of rocks and sand mixed with liquid asphalt, made of crude oil, to hold it all together. Soaring oil prices have caused asphalt...

As both the Right and Left engage in their favorite pastime - The Blame Game - when it comes to assigning responsibility for the mess we're in with gas prices, I've been doing a slow burn about both sides' singular avoidance of placing blame on the one group who truly deserves it. Every red blooded American who has voted over the past 30 years - Republican and Democrat - for federal lawmakers who promised, in effect, that this day would come bears the primary responsibility for high gas prices.

The United States has as much as 8 times as much oil in the form of "shale oil" as all of Saudi Arabia's oil. America could end all imports of foreign oil if these shale oil resources were developed. The Wall Street Journal editorial page then picked up the theme of accessing America's shale oil resources, shortly after publication in the New Media Journal. America's vast supplies of shale oil has not been tapped because it was too expensive when oil was trading at $19 per barrel. And no one has taken action now that oil has exceeded $137 per...

A World Afloat on an Ocean of Oil Alan Caruba Considering how much untapped oil is known to exist, not just in the United States, but worldwide, one would think that its current price was some kind of anomaly and it is. It is more the result of speculation than anything else. The most fundamental fact about oil worldwide is that there is lots of it. Though frequently overlooked, the ability to refine crude oil plays an essential role in the supply and demand equation. More refining capacity is needed worldwide. Finally, there's the fact that, in general, oil is...

With gas prices topping $4 a gallon and the idea of tapping into oil under the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or the Outer Continental Shelf becoming more popular, liberal members of Congress are changing the basis for their opposition to drilling. Opposition to opening up new drilling has traditionally focused on environmental concerns, but the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on June 15 accused oil companies of not using what they already have. When CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked "why not start drilling" in more U.S. areas "that could dramatically increase supply and as a result reduce the...

This started out as an attempt to create a light and humorous, Letterman-esque Top 10 list. But the items on the list, and the drain Americans are seeing in their pocketbooks because of Democrats' actions (sometimes inaction) are just too tragic for that. 10) ANWR  If Bill Clinton had signed into law the Republican Congress's 1995 bill to allow drilling of ANWR instead of vetoing it, ANWR could be producing a million barrels of (non-Opec) oil a day--5% of the nation's consumption. Although speaking in another context, even Democrat Senator Charles Schumer, no proponent of ANWR drilling, admits that "one million barrels...

Recent news articles suggest that a large, and possibly dominant, element in the surge in crude oil prices consists of speculation as opposed to actual demand versus supply. While demand is indeed rising, as driven by the growing Chinese and Indian economies, this does not explain the recent doubling of crude prices. Noting that poor economic conditions usually help the challenger party against the incumbent party in an election, and that many foreign countries want Barack Obama to be elected, this leads to a frightening possibility: Are foreign governments and/or other entities manipulating oil prices to deliberately throw the U.S....

As gas prices increase, Congress is feeling more and more pressures from its constituencies to explore for oil in areas that are off-limits, including the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Many politicians in Washington, D.C. oppose those efforts due to environmental concerns, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on June 12 he’s not opposed to drilling, but said oil companies aren’t using the leases they have. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with drilling,” Hoyer said. “But the fact of the matter is we have 80 percent of the leases that...

How a Windfall Oil Profits Tax Would Hurt You By Elizabeth MacDonald We are witnessing a new round of stiffnecked fulminations over the need for a new windfall tax on oil profits from elected officials who know nothing about economics and the impact their legislation has on US taxpayers. A growing number of Congressmen want to enact a windfall profits tax to punish what they see are greedy gougers in the oil industry. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has piled on, too, and is now exploiting anxiety over high gas prices by pledging to enact a windfall profits tax on...

I think most Democrats in Congress went to college, though there is seldom any outward sign of it. While there, they undoubtedly learned about the law of supply and demand. The demand from China and India is jacking up worldwide oil prices and the federal gas tax increases it further. The Democrats are refusing to do anything about it and are absolute sitting ducks on this issue. They won't allow us to drill our own huge reserves that are located in places where no one has ever been and no one will never go. This week they tried, and failed,...

Greens Thwart Gasoline Production By Steven Milloy Four-plus-dollar gasoline is forcing Americans to realize that we need increased domestic oil production to meet our ever-growing demand for affordable fuel. But even if the greens lose the political battle over drilling offshore and in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they nevertheless are way ahead of the game as they implement a back-up plan to make sure that not a drop of that oil ever eases our gasoline crunch. The Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, successfully pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to block ConocoPhillips’...

June 13, 2008 Rising oil prices are on a slippery slope to disaster Carl Mortished, World Business Editor When hauliers blocked the streets of London, Gordon Brown flew to Aberdeen to talk to Britain's oil bosses. Less than a month later, tanker drivers are threatening further chaos and the Prime Minister wants to fly to Saudi Arabia to talk to Opec. The pow-wow in Jedda on Sunday between oil-producing and consuming nations will not produce cheap diesel but Mr Brown knows he must be seen to do something - the oil price has almost tripled in two years and expensive...

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee has rejected a Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., spearheaded the effort. His proposal would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.

Jun 10, 2008 Washington - Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today issued the following statement on a discharge petition filed by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) to force Democratic leaders to schedule a vote on the No More Excuses Energy Act (H.R. 3089), legislation authored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) to increase U.S. energy production and invest in alternative sources of energy: “The Democratic Majority’s callous indifference as American families and small businesses struggle with $4 per gallon gasoline is both inexcusable and irresponsible.  By flatly refusing to schedule votes on the House GOP plan to help reduce fuel costs and achieve...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices shot up Wednesday as the dollar slipped and the U.S. government reported that crude supplies shrank more-than-expected last week. In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said crude supplies fell by 4.6 million barrels last week. Analysts were looking for a drop of 1.4 million barrels, according to a poll by energy research firm Platts. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose $5.07 to settle at $136.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged nearly $11 on Friday to set an all-time high of $139.12 before giving up...

House Republicans want the American people to know that right now -- around 60 miles off the coast of Key West, Fla. -- China is drilling for oil, thanks to a lease issued by Cuba. But 1,200 miles north of Key West, Democrats in Washington are blocking the United States from conducting its own environmentally-safe oil and gas exploration in similar U.S. coastal areas, said a news release from House Republican leader John Boehner's office. "By prohibiting the United States from taking part in the same type of energy exploration that the Chinese are conducting just miles off our shores,...

June 10, 2008 Experts and Advocates Support the Democrats' Consumer-First Energy Act The Consumer-First Energy Act, legislation to address the root causes of high gas prices, is supported by energy and economy experts as well as labor, environmental, business, rural and seniors’ advocates. They agree that this bill will address the root causes of gas prices, spur innovation and development of alternative energy and reduce America’s dependence on oil. Energy and economy experts support the Consumer-First Energy Act: Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich Said Consumer-First Energy Act Will Help Cut the Price of Gas at the Pump. “The Consumer-First...

Obama says he would impose oil windfall profits tax 33 minutes ago Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he would impose a windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies as he sought political gain from Americans' pain over high gasoline prices. Launching a two-week focus on the economy after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama drew a sharp contrast between his economic policies and those of John McCain, his Republican rival in the November election. "I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia says it will call for a meeting of oil producing countries and consumers to discuss soaring oil prices and work to prevent unjustified rise in prices. Information and Culture Minister Iyad Madani says the kingdom will work with OPEC to "guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future." In a statement following the weekly Cabinet meeting, Monday, the minister said Saudi Arabia will also work to control "unwarranted and unnatural" price hikes. He said that the current price of oil is unjustified.

Just breaking news on AP newswire. No detailed story yet.

"The United States has an opportunity to help increase the supply of oil on the market," thereby easing gasoline prices for hard-working Americans," President Bush said on Monday. He reminded Congress that he has proposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Continental Shelf to domestic oil drilling -- something that would "help us through this difficult period." Citing concerns about the environment, the Democrat-led Congress has so far refused to go along with domestic oil drilling. "We remind our friends and allies overseas that we're all too dependent on hydrocarbons, and we must work to advance tech that...

CONFER: Oil made in the USA The United States twice suffered through oil crises in the 1970s. The 1973 installment was caused by the OAPEC and OPEC cartels cutting-off and manipulating supplies to nations like ours that had supported Israel. This event proved frightening to the American economy, with price controls and rationing being called in to play. The 1979 crisis, a relatively brief affair, was caused by striking oil workers in Iran who made Iranian output plummet and global prices rise, much to the benefit of OPEC. You would have thought that our federal government would have learned from...

In early trading on June 6, the price of a barrel of oil rose $6 and was holding steady at near-record highs in excess of $133. According to CNBC contributor John Kilduff, a high-ranking Israeli official caused the spike when he commented on tensions between Israel and Iran. “[W]hat’s really lit up this market big time here is, which hasn’t been really mentioned. I haven’t heard too much and I’m surprised at, is deputy minister in Israel said this morning that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is quote, ‘unavoidable,’” said Kilduff on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” June 6....

You think Goldman Sachs was reaching when it said oil could spike to $200? Try Louise Yamada on for size. The former Citigroup analyst sees oil going to $450 inside a decade. Based upon fundamental demand and technical market factors, Yamada says much higher oil just makes sense. “If the present rhymes with history, oil prices might be expected to advance significantly ($253 to even above $453) over the decade ahead,� she wrote in a report to clients. Yamada is managing director of Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors, a firm she founded in October 2005. Prior to that, she spent...

America's leading commodities regulator has launched an unprecedented investigation into possible market manipulation in the US crude oil market amid record prices which continue to cripple various parts of the global economy. The Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), working closely with other international regulators including the Financial Services Authority in the UK, has begun a series of detailed inquiries over concerns that energy speculators are behind the rising oil price.

Gasoline prices are through the roof and Americans are angry. Someone must be to blame and the obvious villain is "Big Oil" with its alleged ability to gouge consumers and achieve unconscionable, "windfall" profits. (snip) But if there is a villain in all of this, it is Congress itself. That venerable body has made it impossible for U.S. producers of crude oil to tap significant domestic reserves of oil and gas, and it has foreclosed economically viable alternative sources of energy in favor of unfeasible alternatives such as wind and solar. (snip)

The global financial system these days is beginning to look like a giant Whac-a-Mole game--when we think we've knocked down one speculative bubble, another one just like it pops up. The latest is the commodities bubble--everything from oil and natural gas to gold, copper, wheat and rice....Like the credit bubble, this speculative bubble in commodities has badly distorted the workings of key markets and sectors of the global economy....this bubble is creating vast new wealth for some, including brokers, traders and investment houses who have gorged on fees and trading profits. The difference this time, however, is that even before...

An engineer and energy authority says the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia wants to drive the world into an economic depression with the eventual goal of establishing a worldwide Islamic caliphate Dr. Robert Zubrin has a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and is president of Pioneer Astronautics, an aerospace engineering firm. He recently published Energy Victory: Win the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil. He believes the OPEC cartel has consciously decided to restrict the production of oil in the face of growing world demand, and that this year the U.S. is going to...

I watched Senators Durbin and Schumer lacerate the oil executives. Seemingly, the Senators believe "big oil" and "OPEC" are the ones to blame with an outside possible hedge fund assistance. Not only were the Senators rude and absolutely stupid in their allegations, but they seemed oblivious to the points the oil executives made including we need to drill more, etc. I then watched Neil Cavuto's program (Fox); he interviewed another Democrat Senator whose name I cannot recall. What I do recall is that every option--drilling, oil shale, coal to oil and nuclear are non starters for the Democrats. The key...

In four years, U.S. gas prices have doubled to more than $3.70 a gallon, and crude oil has tripled to around $125 a barrel. Allowing for inflation, that's higher than prices were during the 1978–83 oil shock that triggered a recession and sky-high interest rates. But . . . What if gas cost $10 a gallon? Thousands of truckers would go bankrupt. Airplanes would sit idle in hangars. Restaurants and stores would shut down. Car-pooling, hybrid vehicles, scooters and inline skates would swing into vogue. And telecommuting, rooftop vegetable gardens, home cooking and recycling would proliferate. Editor's note: This is...

NEW YORK - Oil prices bolted to a new record above $132 a barrel Wednesday after the government reported that supplies of crude oil and gasoline fell unexpectedly last week. And crude's rise in the futures market again pressured consumers by pulling prices at the pump higher — a gallon of regular gas rose overnight to a new record above $3.80 a gallon. With gas and oil prices setting new records on a daily basis, many analysts are beginning to wonder whether anything can stop runaway prices. There are technical signals in the futures market, including price differences between near-term...

US will stop sending oil into strategic reserves By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago The Energy Department says it has canceled oil shipments into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beginning in July when the current purchase contract expires. The move came days after Congress passed legislation requiring the president to suspend the shipment into the reserve in hopes of lowering gasoline prices. The Energy Department said it will not sign contracts for new shipments of 76,000 barrels of oil a day for the six-month period beginning July 1. President Bush had opposed halting the shipments, arguing that...

By filibustering an amendment to allow development of offshore oil fields and a tiny portion of ANWR, the Democrats in the Senate have essentially said that they WANT the consumers in the US to be hurt by high gasoline prices and they WANT the US to be dependent on terrorist sponsoring nations and tin pot dictators for our supply of crude oil. Part of their reasoning is that even if drilling were allowed in ANWR, it would be years before we saw any relief. They also said the same thing 10 and 15 and 20 years ago. But the sad...

At a press conference today, leaders from farm and ethanol groups pointed to skyrocketing oil prices, hedge fund commodity speculators, growing worldwide demand for grain and severe droughts as the major factors underlying rising food prices. They also pointed to the expansion of biofuels as preventing even higher oil prices. The groups cited Merrill Lynch analyst Francisco Blanch’s estimate that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15% higher, or $4.14 a gallon at today’s prices, if biofuel producers weren't increasing their output.

A Limbaugh Analysis of Oil Prices BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Snerdley says we have a lot of people calling about oil today. I'm getting e-mails about this, too, and there obviously is some kind of campaign out there to have oil discussed. You know, the story out there past couple of days is "experts" say that the barrel price of oil will soon hit $200 -- and this is roiling the markets, they say. Now, I want you to stop and think about something, folks. If $200-a-barrel oil leads to the pump price of $10 a gallon at the gasoline pump,...

Oil prices spiked to a record $117.40 a barrel after a Japanese oil tanker was hit by a rocket near Yemen and militants in Nigeria claimed two attacks on pipelines. The 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was attacked about 270 miles off the east coast Yemen coast in the Gulf of Aden while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement. None of the ship's 23 crew members was injured. Hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked before a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern was repaired, the company said. Kyodo News agency reported that...